LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – They say first impressions last a lifetime.
But, for Chester and Ann Beard Grundy, Dr. Maya Angelou was larger than life.
"We had this very nice, intimate dinner," said Chester Grundy. "We talked for hours about a whole range of things. So human, so accessible, so engaging and that's who she was."
"Even things that, on the face of it, were sad and a downer, she could see the humor and turn a phrase," said Ann.
Both active in humanitarian and civil rights causes, the Grundy's met Angelou more than once when she was on the speaker's circuit at the University of Kentucky.
"She was so southern and black in her experience, that's how she was grounded. But, from that, her experiences were universal experiences."
"It's like she was all things to all people in her own very special way."
Angelou died Wednesday at the age of 86 after spending some time in the hospital.